UK's Knight beginning to live up to expectations

Kentucky's Brandon Knight (12) cheers as his team pulls ahead of West Virginia during the final minutes of the second half in a third-round East regional NCAA tournament college basketball game in Tampa, Fla., Saturday March 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky freshman Brandon Knight has spentall season trying to live up to the high expectations that comewith playing point guard for John Calipari. The expectations don't come from Calipari, but from Knighthimself. The straight-A student is well aware everything he does will becompared to the other electric playmakers who have directedCalipari's sometimes freewheeling dribble-drive offense, a listthat includes current NBA stars Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans and JohnWall. "A lot of people say it's pressure, I look at is as exciting,"Knight said. "That's why I'm here." Though Knight lacks Wall's speed, Evans' size and Rose's giftfor squeezing into tight spaces, Calipari says his latest pointguard protege makes up for it in sheer tenacity. "All the players I've coached, and I had guys that would livein the practice facility, literally, I've never seen a guy withthis kid's work ethic," Calipari said. "His focus is on 'whereare my weak areas?' And he goes after them." It's the only way Knight knows. And it's why he's been able to do something Wall or Rose neveraccomplished during their brief college careers: Score 30 points inan NCAA tournament victory. Knight's performance helped the fourth-seeded Wildcats (27-8)surge past West Virginia last Saturday and into the NCAA tournamentregional semifinals. Kentucky faces top-seeded Ohio State (34-2) inNewark, N.J., on Friday. It's a destination that appeared iffy at best during a rockyregular season. The Wildcats struggled when things got tight in January andFebruary, Knight in particular. Several times he had the ball in his hands and a chance to tieor win the game only to watch his final shot clang off the rim. It happened at Florida. It happened at Arkansas, twice, once inregulation and again in overtime. Knight remained undaunted, however, thanks to a mental toughnessand a case of selective memory. When he misses a game-winner, helets it go. To Knight, worrying about what might have been ispointless. It's why Calipari didn't hesitate when Kentucky found itselftied with Princeton in the final seconds of their second-round gamelast week. He put the ball in Knight's hands even though Knight hadmissed all seven of his field-goal attempts to that point. "Everybody says, 'why would you give him the ball when hedidn't make a shot?"' Calipari said. "Because I knew he expectedto make the last one and you have to give it to him. He's notafraid to miss the last shot." Knight never hesitated, hitting a difficult runner that gaveKentucky a 59-57 victory and Knight a much-needed confidence boost. The normally unflappable Knight admitted feeling some"anxiety" before the Wildcats played the Mountaineers, whounceremoniously ended Wall's college career with a victory in lastyear's NCAA regional final. Knight hardly looked nervous while shredding West Virginia'snormally airtight defense. His 16 first-half points helped Kentuckystay close and his seven free throws in the game's final 61 secondspushed the Wildcats into the regional semifinals for the secondtime in as many seasons under Calipari. As usual, Knight deflected the praise. "My teammates continued to have faith in me even though Ididn't play such a great game" against Princeton, he said. Maybe it's because his teammates, like his coach, knew he wouldbounce back. "If you're a hard worker and you spend the time, you expectgood things to happen," Calipari said. And good things happen for the Wildcats when Knight isassertive. Kentucky is 10-3 when he scores at least 20 points. "It looks like he's really grown into just a tremendousbasketball player," said Ohio State coach Thad Matta. "He can doa lot of different things out there." The Wildcats have needed every last bit of Knight's versatility.He doesn't have the luxury Wall enjoyed last year of playingalongside four other NBA first-round draft picks. Kentucky needs Knight to take control with both his shotmakingand his mouth. It's a role he is still learning how to fill. When teammate Terrence Jones ran a play incorrectly against WestVirginia, Knight turned to Calipari looking for his coach tocorrect Jones. Calipari told Knight to do it himself. "I said, 'you tell him. Why are you telling me to tell him?You're out there with him, you tell him," Calipari said. "Andthey love each other so there's no big deal about it, and they canlaugh about it later, but that's what a good team can do." One that's getting better thanks to the blossoming play ofCalipari's latest point guard.

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